How You Fight Terrorism

Hair-trigger reactions to failed plots, that seek to increase everyone’s worry for political gain is not how you fight terrorism, that is how you help terrorists succeed.

The terrorists want to make you afraid. If you live in fear, they have won.

The system worked. No one died and the terrorist was arrested. The people who are freaking out in the media are giving him the victory he was too incompetent to win on his own. Now is the time for ridicule, not “tough measures”. The measures should be taken later, without fanfare, when the bad guys think they have gotten away with something. Such measures are best delivered in person, so there is no mistaking why it happened.

Me and my fellow travelers were treated to a CNN Terrorism Special as we waited to board our flights back from the east coast. Lovely way to spend an hour.
.-= last blog ..There And Back… LAX To PHL Holiday =-.

I would expect no less from the network that brought us Glenn Beck and Lou Dobbs.

The airlines will soon cease to exist if this garbage continues. The only people taking planes will be terrorists and air marshals. The networks will probably make it a new reality show – Survival the 4:15 to Topeka.

You know, we should make all these bed-wetting morons spend a few days frying Air New Guinea around Papua New Guinea! That’s pretty terrorizing, and nobody’s even trying to kill you (unless you count that to become a qualified Pilot in PNG you have to list ‘Death wish’ on your resume I’m almost certain!) There is nothing like coning in to land on a small airstrip on the side of a mountain, or with a bloody great mountain in front of you! And then, if they survive that, a few of the regional airlines in Africa to top it off!

Actually, I must say that in reality, the pilots in PNG have amazing skill. And the Nomads they fly (Made in Aus) are designed for the terrain there. At least they have a sense of humor, and give all the passengers a 200g pack of Blue Mountain coffee! That’s worth the flight! 😉

The unofficial motto of the Turkish national airlines was “Fly or Die with THY”, which was pretty much the same mountainous landing fields, but no “cuddly foliage”, just rocks. There’s nothing like running out of fuel before you get to the taxiway after arrival. The terminals had a distinctive odor, a mixture of Turkish tobacco and hydraulic fluid.

We had some runways that had obvious tilts to them in SEA. You knew you were about to rotate when the aircraft became level. They were built as temporary fields during WWII and never improved. Fortunately, C-47s [Goonies, Dakotas, Skytrains] are forgiving of less than perfect conditions.

Regional airlines used to have a lot of “charm”, before people got excited about flight safety.

Why aren’t the talking heads freakin’ out about the 45,000 people that are “killed’ each year due to lack of insurance. Insurance companies, in my mind, are terrorists.

But nooooooo…..we have to get our panties up in a bunch over a failed attempt by someone who “looks different” than “us.” It’s easier to paint the “bad guys” if you can spot them out in a crowd. Much more difficult when they pay the advertising costs to keep the blow dried crowd yapping.
.-= last blog ..You’ve heard it through the Grapevine (Fine Food Market) =-.

I’ve seen a few stories about crashes in PNG and the attempts to reach the sites. I was familiar with some of the problems from watching nature shows that all stressed how difficult it was to travel across the area, and how, as a result, you had unique species of the same creature evolving in neighboring valleys, totally cut off from each other.

The Cessna 185 is a popular bush aircraft in Alaska, although production stopped years ago.

If bin Laden et al. were really serious about attacking the US they would start a health insurance company, and make a lot of money while killing Americans… you know, like Aetna and Blue Cross.

Soooo… How do you know that Bin Ladin doesn’t own shares in US insurance companies? Maybe via one of his families proxies, such as the Bush family. 🙂 Just sayin… 😆

I am sure many people would be surprised to learn just what companies the Bin Ladin’s family fortune have been invested in, though that would require people to give a damn, have curiosity, and think intelligently and honestly. So, there’s very little chance of that happening any time soon. 🙂

For example, the media noted that former President George H. W. Bush attended an investment meeting at the Washington, D.C. Ritz-Carlton hotel on September 10, 2001 and in particular a meeting with Shafiq bin Laden, representing joint interests of the Saudi Binladin Group and Carlyle, also in attendance were former Secretary of State James Baker and former Secretary of Defense Frank Carlucci. 🙂 Officially, of course, all business ties between Carlyle and Binladin groups were severed on 26th Oct, 2001. Curiously, and I’m sure coincidentally, both groups seem to spend time in Dubai and Bahrain at the same time. 🙂 Another curious coincidence is that G.H.W. Bush didn’t attend the meeting which continued on the 11th, and which began before the attacks took place. In fact, it’s truly amazing just how many coincidences took place on 09/11/01. I think the USA must have used up about a year’s quota on that day. 🙂

(PS. I meant to post a comment about this a week ago, but got too busy).

"A person who has a cat by the tail knows a whole lot more about cats than someone who has just read about them."

Mark Twain

"There are two novels that can change a bookish 14-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs."

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